The deal is not officially done yet, but it’s as close as can be: Luke Bryan is almost a sure-thing to be the second judge on the upcoming re-boot of American Idol!!

The country singer hasn’t signed his contract yet, and so entertainment sources don’t want to come forward and confirm anything, but according to TMZ the deal is as close as it can be, and the star should sign in the coming days.

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According to reports, even tough the details of the contract and his payment/perks haven’t come out yet, Luke apparently liked the deal enough to indicate he’s set to join up.

But even though sources are firm that the deal is nearly done… nothing is done until it’s DONE, you know?!

We’ll have to see what comes next.

For now, we can report that Lionel Richie is apparently no longer in the running to join the show, and other artists like Charlie Puth and Keith Urban are unlikely to join in that third chair — in part because Katy Perry is commanding SO much money ($ 25 million) to be the first judge that the show just doesn’t have much room to pay talent beyond her.

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Luke must have liked what he saw, though, because he’s all but signed up.